Chapter 148: The Price Is the School

"A nobleman, a bodyguard connected to the Valtherions, and a man who seems to know half the things I don’t know." The guild master thought.

He looked at the three rings for a moment.

"Very well." The guild master began, sitting behind the desk with the calculated calm of someone who had already handled much bigger deals than this one. "My name is Horizon."

"So that’s where the name Null Horizon came from." Haru thought. "I just don’t understand the ’Null.’"

"And as a good master of a collective, just by looking at your rings, I was able to deduce that you’re members of the same society. Or something along those lines."

"Actually, anyone can do that." Flavius said casually. "As long as a group of people is wearing the same thing. It’s the same as looking at the imperial guards."

"But instead of wearing uniforms, like armor, we opt for rings." He continued. "It’s more discreet. Nothing a meticulous person wouldn’t notice."

"Hohoho."

"Hehehe."

"Very well." Horizon continued. "So what’s the problem?"

"I ask the same." Genius added.

"I just read your letter of recommendation." Horizon said, looking directly at Haru. "It interested me."

"What exactly?"

"Sir Haru Mizuki." He paused. "Valtherion, isn’t it?"

"Ah, so that’s the problem. That name." Haru thought, remembering how heavy it was to carry. He was still getting used to it.

Needless to say, if this were Earth, some people would dare use the name to gain privileges they weren’t entitled to. Not here. Here, people valued names and were afraid of them, perhaps because of magic, perhaps because everything was more raw. In this world, you could lose your head over money or honor, and people seemed to accept that as part of reality.

"That reminds me of the Yakuza." He thought. "Imagine if a Yakuza Gamer ended up here."

His body shuddered.

"Was Earth always this shitty?"

"I want a partnership with the Valtherions." Horizon said, the words bringing Haru back to the present.

"I’m not even Baron Valtherion." He said. "I’m just his daughter’s official bodyguard, Isabela."

"It’s not you." Genius interrupted. "It’s whoever you answer to, Tokyo. He wants you to be the intermediary. He wants to convince you to talk to the baron and get his support."

"That’s it." Horizon smiled. "The boy Genials has vision."

Horizon looked at Genius with something close to nostalgia. "The last time I saw you, young Genius, you were a child."

"That happened!?" Genius asked, not because he doubted it, but because he had no memory of it. Not necessarily because he was a Gamer; there were gaps in the real Genius’s memories. Some things simply weren’t there.

"That’s right... You asked me who the unlucky bastard was who didn’t attend your baptism party." Flavius commented.

"Maybe that’s how so many people know Genius." Genius thought. "The family that blows all its money on parties."

On the other side, Haru was thinking, fingers on his chin.

"So, if you’re planning to convince me, what cards do you have?"

Horizon made a gesture. The assistant brought over a file and placed it on the desk.

"Well, if you’re here, it’s because you’re probably members of this beautiful newly established guild." He opened the file with maximum elegance. "However, I see that you’re provisional members. I can assign whatever rank you want."

"Nah." Haru said.

"And grant missions of any level."

"Nah."

"Of course, your payment would come with bonuses. Unlike what any other guild offers."

"Nah."

"Special table. Reserved."

"Nah."

Horizon narrowed his eyes. "I haven’t even finished the proposal yet... It’s a very good table."

"It’s still a table."

Flavius took another sip of tea.

"He really doesn’t care." Horizon thought.

"Look here." Haru cut in. "We’re talking about Baron Valtherion. Not Lord. Baron. The guy with the flames, money, all that real noble shit. And standing in front of you is the guy who can make your guild get in or out of anywhere it wants."

"What do you want, then!?" Horizon asked, a little more directly. "More money, Sir Haru?"

Money...

In that world, Haru had indeed felt the weight of not having any, but he had never been under that much pressure because, well, he’d been lucky. Better yet, he’d earned it, considering how many times he’d died to get this far.

Becoming an official Valtherion and traveling with Isabela, who was Daddy Rich’s daughter, guaranteed that almost anything would be paid for without any effort on his part. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d paid for dinner. What he actually paid for, in the end, was drinks.

But there were things that the Valtherion status didn’t cover.

And as much as Isabela paid for him whenever necessary, Haru still felt responsible for certain things in a way he himself couldn’t quite explain.

Genius noticed Haru’s gaze lowering.

Haru sighed, then raised his eyes.

"Well." He said slowly. "I want you to pay for school."

"Huh?" Horizon exclaimed.

"School?" Flavius repeated. "But doesn’t the baron pay for you!?"

"No." Haru said. "It’s not for me."

A brief silence followed.

"I have a servant. And a daughter. In Eldrath, with me. I won’t always be able to take missions and make extra money... who knows when I might die."

"Indeed." Genius thought. "As long as the system keeps forcing Gamers to kill each other..."

Horizon stared at Haru for a moment. Then he started laughing.

"Hahahahaha." He said, slapping his hand on the desk. "You really are... huh. A different kind of Valtherion. I wasn’t expecting that from you."

Horizon had expected money, privileges, perhaps a better position for himself. He hadn’t expected a request that had nothing to do with Haru.

The guild master leaned back in his chair, studying him with renewed interest.

"Interesting..."

Flavius simply stared at Haru. Something about that moment had changed his perception of the boy, though he didn’t say anything aloud.

"Very well. Deal." Horizon said. "And, as a courtesy from the house, because I really like your troupe, you’ll receive the license."

"License?" Haru asked.

"Yes. The license." Horizon confirmed. "You’re exempt from following the rank requirements to take missions."

Haru’s eyes gained a different kind of glow.

"Take whatever you can survive, and whatever you earn is entirely yours. No guild fee... I mean, with a little guild fee... hihihihihi."

The assistant, the same one who had run around screaming "Valtherion" minutes earlier, nodded in confirmation.

Haru smiled slightly.

"This is actually really good." Haru thought. "Now I’ll have access to dungeon-related missions. And dungeons have cores. And I can consume cores to strengthen the pact I carry."

That was a huge advantage.

He could explore, study, and actually feel like part of the guild. He could already imagine camping in the middle of a dungeon with his adventure companions, the kind of thing that had only existed in stories before he became a character in one.

Genius, despite everything, also felt a certain relief.

He intended to study dungeons up close, develop inventions from the cores, and understand the mechanics firsthand instead of simply buying ready-made materials. Going there personally seemed... different. Better.

He remembered a vague sensation, wind hitting his face, running, something he couldn’t name exactly but recognized as belonging to this category of experience.

"Adventure." Maybe that was the word.

"But pay attention." Horizon continued. "Don’t confuse freedom with protection. If you take a mission that’s supposed to be above your heads and lose an arm, the guild doesn’t owe you another one."

"Then it’s settled." Haru extended his hand.

"Oh, how disrespectful." Flavius commented, without really caring. "Normally the elders are the ones who extend their hands first."

Flavius was indifferent to almost everything there, simply watching the Gamers act, genuinely enjoying the spectacle. To him, it felt like a very good play. Or a very peculiar book.

"Hohohohi." Flavius smiled inwardly.

Horizon smiled and shook Haru’s hand.

The deal was closed.

Haru stood up, satisfied.

Horizon looked at him again.

"Oh. So, Sir Haru." He said. "What’s the deadline?"

"Deadline?"

"Yes. When should I expect Baron Valtherion to step into this guild?"

"Oooh..." Haru muttered.

"Yeah, there was that part."

He had completely forgotten about that detail.

"How the hell am I going to convince the baron to come to a guild?"

Haru slowly looked at Genius, then at Flavius. Neither of them seemed willing to save him.

He remained standing there, his hand still half-raised from the handshake, processing the new dimension of the problem he’d just created for himself.

"I’m going to have to talk to him."

"Go." Genius replied.

"Personally?"

"Probably."

Haru closed his eyes.

That was much worse than a dungeon.

Genius, beside him, was already starting to laugh quietly, recognizing Haru’s pattern perfectly: solving one problem by immediately creating an even bigger one.

"You’re going to need a plan, Tokyo."

"I know."

"A good plan."

"I know."

Flavius simply watched, satisfied with the free entertainment the night was providing.

"This is going to be fun to watch." He said.